School is almost here...Thank God!

I try to ride my bike as many places as possible when the weather allows. Elizabeth can now ride a two wheeler, so she often rides along side me, but there are days she opts to ride in the trailer with Kai.

Our bicycle trailer and what it is like to pull it with the kids in there, symbolizes the entire summer. They laugh and talk back there. They also yell and scream and hit each other as we roll along. The quarters are tight when you have a 5 and 3 year old back there.

That has been our summer this summer. It is the first summer that our family has consisted of two children. I daydreamed about this summer for years as we worked on the adoption paperwork and then proceeded to wait and wait and wait. We would still be waiting had we not put our names on the list for children with special/and or medical needs. Last year at this time, Kai was still living in his orphanage.

And so, this summer, there have been days when I suddenly realize the wounds and memories of the past have healed and the family I longed for is right here in our home, playing blocks, rock band, singing songs, jumping on the trampoline and reading books together. And then there are other days, my "garage days" (I will blog specifically what I mean when I say "garage days" this week, but many of my friends already know exactly what I mean by this), when they are tearing each other apart, yelling, screeching, and crying. On those days, I feel as if my patience and ability to come up with creative solutions evaporates into the morning mist and I am left to deal with the disbelief that it really IS only 8:30 am.

The only logical remedy that presents itself is a 2 hour run or an emergency trip to Dairy Queen for a massive candy bar filled Blizzard to compensate for the utter frustration. People are fond of saying "My kids keep me in good shape." The listener envisions a chipper mommy running after her children, frolicking in weed-free grass and kicking a brightly colored ball to her well-groomed offspring. As for me, my kids keep me in shape because the workout center offers childcare, a treadmill and some weights. If I am going to stay sane I need an hour or so to myself, (childcare), something to burn off stress (treadmill) and push through frustration (weights). Or, as I mentioned before, large amounts of sugar, which I try to save for the really crappy days.

I am getting off track though. In this picture, the kids had been fighting like crazy as I pedaled home from working out that morning. Suddenly, about half-way home I noticed it was silent. I dared not to ask what was going on, and only when I pulled up to our driveway did I see Kai's head snuggled into Elizabeth's lap, as she contently stroked his hair as he slept.

I had to capture that moment. I heard recently on a Manic Mommies podcast, that siblings will argue about something 3.5 times in a 15 minute time block. This is often true for my kids. As much as I want them to play nicely with each other all the time, it may not be very normal for them to do so. They do love each other though, and that is worth capturing anytime I can.